What to see in Sanabria

Lake Sanabria is the body of water that gives its name to this protected area, which is more than justified by the priceless landscapes it offers to the visitor and by its dimensions: a maximum length of 3,178 meters, a width of 1,590 meters and a surface of almost 320 hectares. If we could look at the profile, we would see that it is formed by two basins: the westernmost one reaches a depth of 40 meters, while the eastern one reaches 51 meters.

This municipality belongs to one of the oldest regions of the province of Zamora, located in the northwest of the province.

Puebla de Sanabria is recognized as a Historic-Artistic Site.

It has several emblematic buildings, such as the Castle built in the fifteenth century, commissioned by Don Rodrigo Alonso de Pimentel and Doña María Pacheco, Counts of Benavente, lords of much of the kingdom of León. It is a castle-fortress built in granite masonry with a square walled enclosure and a central tower, the great keep, which was protected by a drawbridge.

It is popularly known as "El Macho", surrounded by defensive walls. It currently serves as a house of culture and you can visit it.

Another emblematic monument is the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora del Azogue, dating from the twelfth century, although it has been greatly modified in later times. The temple consists of a single nave, Latin cross plan, transept and polygonal chancel, chapel and sacristy, side chapel, atrium and prominent tower at the foot. The front is of Romanesque origin, inside it preserves a baptismal font of the thirteenth century. The Virgen del Azogue is the patron saint of Puebla de Sanabria.

The Hermitage of San Cayetano from the XVIII century, is of neoclassical style, built by the Osorio family, whose family coat of arms is preserved on the cover. The façade is beautifully ornamented: two pilasters attached to the door with a composite capital, a religious coat of arms of the Calvary inserted in the tympanum of the door, a small oculus as a rose window as a point of entry of light and an elegant belfry topped by two pinnacles and two buttresses.

The City Hall located in the Plaza Mayor is a porticoed building, with two towers on its sides, is a building from the time of the Catholic Monarchs.

The Convent of San Francisco is located outside the old town, on the other side of the river, in a neighborhood of widening, is austere. Its church is still open to the public.

Throughout the town we find large mansions with a stately air, and mansions adorned with ancient coats of arms that mark its steep streets, all carefully maintained so they have a great quality.

San Martín de Castañeda is located in one of the most beautiful places in Sanabria, on the southern slope of the Sospiaco mountain, some 250 metres above the level of Lake Sanabria. The village is named after a primitive monastery, built before the 10th century.

The monastery of this village has been a national historic-artistic monument since 1931, and was one of the largest religious complexes in the province of Zamora. As an artistic monument it is a marvellous example of Romanesque architecture. The 12th century church is one of the most valuable Romanesque monuments in Zamora. The church has three naves with large square pillars and a cubic transept. It has a Latin cross floor plan. The chevet is formed by an apse and two semicircular apses. The current façade of the church is from the 16th century and hides the old Romanesque façade. The patron saint is Saint Martin of Tours and his image is preserved inside the church. Another image of great value is the Virgen de la Peregrinación, which is the patron saint of the village. These two images plus the choir stalls and the Renaissance altarpiece form a valuable ensemble.

From San Martín de Castañeda, there are several hiking and mountain bike routes that allow us to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings.

One of them is the Senda de los Monjes: a path full of stones from the Middle Ages which was used by the monks and which links Ribadelago, San Martín de Castañeda and the east side of the lake, the cave of San Martín, Laguna de Peces, Peña Trevinca, Montalvo and Laguna el Acillo, among others.

Santa María (12th century)

"It would be difficult to find a monastery planted in a more beautiful place than this one: halfway up the slope of a mountain range, facing the sun, among orchards, meadows and woods and with the Lake of Sanabria at its feet, which could rival in fame and yields, with those of Italy, if we were to look inside here for what we envy outside".

Of the monastery rebuilt after 1150, all that remains is the church, which served as a parish church, since everything else, with the exception of a façade, collapsed after the exclaustration.

All that remains of the primitive 10th century building is the foundation stone embedded in the gable of the church, which describes a Latin cross with a stepped triangular chevet, a slightly marked transept in plan and well raised in height and three naves with four bays, which seems to be inspired by the Cathedral of Zamora, although in San Martín the pillars are cruciform towards the side naves and square towards the central one. As far as the roofs are concerned, it is worth mentioning the customary pitched vaults in the apsidal semicircles and buttressed barrel vaults in the straight bays that precede them; these chapels are separated from their corresponding naves by semicircular arches in the side naves and by a canting arch in the central nave; The main nave and the arms of the transept are also closed with pointed barrel vaults, but in the centre of the transept a ribbed vault was built, perhaps inspired by Moreruela, with the ribs resting on roll corbels. The secondary naves are built with slate masonry vaults, but some of them had to be reinforced with ribs; there is also a groin vault in the nave of the epistle.

Its chevet is particularly beautiful on the outside; the central apse is enlivened by four columns that divide it into five sections, the narrower ones at the ends, with the wide ones opening a window on columns with schematic vegetal capitals that support two arches. The cornice, in the Zamora style, runs over triangular corbels. The apses have three columns with vegetal capitals and only one window with a single round arch on small columns. The capitals and corbels are similar to those of the main chapel. The north gable of the transept is also very beautiful, with a blind arcade of four lancet arches on slender columns with vegetal capitals in the middle section; at the top, under the gabled roof, there is a window with a semicircular arch.

The monks who lived there obtained the right to fish on Lake Sanabria in 916 and made good use of its famous trout. Donations and purchases throughout the 10th to 12th centuries increased their patrimony, and in the middle of that century they enjoyed the protection of Alfonso VIII, who donated the monastery to Pedro Cristiano, a monk of Cariacedo and friend of San Bernardo, and to all those who accepted the Benedictine rule. In 1207 it was incorporated into the Cistercian Order, not without prior resistance.

It is a municipality in Sanabria known for having been swept away by the waters of the river Tera in 1959.

When the Vega de Tera dam broke, millions of litres of water, embedded in the narrow walls of the canyon, rushed down to the mouth of the river and there, in the middle of the night, surprised the more than 500 inhabitants of Ribadelago.

The population lost almost all their fields, everything was swept away by the flood: livestock, mills, houses, even entire families disappeared.

Today we can visit the remains of Ribadelago and remember and get an idea of the great tragedy that happened.

Sanabria not only stands out for its lake, but there are dozens of glacial lakes throughout the region, distributed in different mountainous areas.

The Laguna de los Peces, of glacial origin, stands out for its large size and is the highest point in the Natural Park.

It is one of the most visited places in Sanabria. In the winter months it maintains a spectacular landscape, as the lagoon is frozen and snowy most days.

It is one of the starting points for many hiking routes in the area.

It can be accessed by road, and there is a parking area where you can leave your vehicle. To reach the Laguna de los Peces you have to pass through San Martín de Castañeda and follow the climb up a steep road, where you will find several viewpoints with spectacular views of Lake Sanabria and the whole area.

One of the most beautiful places in the Sanabria area is the Sotillo Waterfall.

Its scenic charm together with its easy accessibility has made it one of the most visited hiking routes in the Sanabria Lake Natural Park.

A route that takes us into the glacial canyon of the river Truchas, where the magnificent deciduous forest is shown as an image of what must have been common in this Natural Park.

To do this route we can leave the car in the village of Sotillo de Sanabria, we start the way near the Church of San Lorenzo, where there are already signs showing the way until we reach the bridge of the river Truchas, place where we will start the ascent by paths that are marked with wooden beacons painted in yellow.

Without leaving the path, we will reach the waterfall that falls from the Sotillo Lagoon.

San Justo is located in the region of Sanabria, 120 kilometres from Zamora and 14 kilometres from Puebla de Sanabria.

San Justo is characterised by its longer and colder winters, given its location in the mountains.

Its houses maintain the popular architecture of the area, very well preserved nowadays in its constructions.

We can visit the Ermita de la Alcobilla, which is located in a very beautiful natural environment, surrounded by centenary and millenary chestnut trees.

It is a sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Alcobilla, where one of the most popular pilgrimages in Sanabria is held in her honour on 8 and 9 September.

Set on a quadrangular esplanade surrounded by a low masonry wall, the current sanctuary was erected in the second third of the 16th century, possibly on top of an earlier hermitage.

The church has a basilica floor plan, with three naves, the central one being distinguished in height. The interior space is covered by barrel vaults supported by arches and pierced by simple ribs.

Above the chapel is a dome with rectilinear ribs and mural paintings from the same period.

At the foot of the central nave rises a tower crowned by a baroque belfry built in the 18th century.

The sacristy is attached to the presbytery. In the presbytery there are several images from the 17th and 18th centuries, the most important of which is that of the Virgin and Child.

Like many other sanctuaries, the shrine of La Alcobilla is associated with archaeological remains from the Roman and pre-Roman periods that seem to indicate a continuity of worship and doubling since the beginning of the Christian era.

The spring of the sanctuary's fountain is popularly attributed to a miracle of the Virgin.

El Puente de Sanabria is a young and recently expanding town in the Sanabria region, named after the old 18th century bridge that crosses over the river Tera.

The existence of a weekly market, held every Monday - the true commercial centre of the area, where all kinds of transactions are carried out - makes this town an important meeting point for a large number of people from the surrounding area.

We can highlight in this municipality the Sanctuary of Our Lady, a humble hermitage located on the banks of the river Tera, and a beautiful cross with the traditional figures of the Crucified Christ and the Virgin.

It is also the town where Cabañas Maleixas is located, so you can get to know it on foot in just a few minutes.